Uphill question: What's harder...?

What would you say is harder... a steep(ish) increase over a given distance or the same increase over a longer distance?

Reason why I ask - I'm running in a 10K next week that is fairly flat until around mile 4.7. At that point, it increases 60 ft until the end..... so 60 ft. across almost 1.5 miles (ok don't laugh, but this DOES seem uphill to li'l ole me)

I have a similar increase 'hill' near where I regularly run, but the 60 ft increase covers less than a mile. So, I've been practicing on the same increase as the 10K, but at a steeper rate.

I'm worried that in the 10K, the increase stretched out over a longer distance will do me in (especially because it's at the end!)

Reason why I ask - I'm running in a 10K next week that is fairly flat until around mile 4.7. At that point, it increases 60 ft until the end..... so 60 ft. across almost 1.5 miles (ok don't laugh, but this DOES seem uphill to li'l ole me)

If I am not mistaken about the imperial units it is a 0,7% slope, i.e. 7 metres per kilometre. I have never raced anything as flat as that :-) You are right that it will impact your pace, every percent of slope translates into a 5% decrease in speed. However, it is flat enough so that your gait shouldn't be impacted, so you shouldn't fear sore muscles—apart from the normal soreness resulting from racing.

Oh, that wasn't one of the choices. I'll go with the sharper incline over a short period of time. Gradual inclines may take a bit more motivational effort to keep a pace, but a sharp incline really zaps your energy stores if you push the pace at all. I always try to attack hills, so I pay the price for steeper grades like that. But I catch a lot of people on those hills too.

I'm pumped because this will be my first 10K race. I can run a 5K at an 8:40 pace, but I can't maintain that for a 10K (yet), especially a 10K that ends in a gigantic hill. OK, not a gigantic hill, but a 'gradual increase'.

So, now the trick is for me to figure out how I should pace myself to store up energy for the end. I'm thinking of pacing myself at 9:00 from the front and just see how I do.

Agree w/WC runner, and with your training on 60ft/mile, you are gonna kill this 6.2! Never under estimate your hill training,continue to practice on a hill harder than your race, if u run it in training, there's no way you're gonna walk it in a race.

I totally agree a hill like that at the end is rough. I agree with keep your effort even, although you could start pushing it when you get closer to the finish. I did a 4 mile race with a hill like that in the 1st and last mile (down in mile 1, back up for mile 4). I think the race organizer had a cruel sense of humor in calling the course relatively flat.

There are 5,280 feet in a mile, or 63,360 inches. You have to go up 60 feet in that mile, or 720 inches. If your stride covers 28 inches, that means you'll take 2,262 steps to cover that last mile. That means that for every step, you only have to gain 0.31 of an inch. Now hold out your fingers and measure 0.31 of an inch. You've got this in the bag!

p.s. Please forgive me if my math is wrong and it's much worse once corrected, LOL

In my experience, the hills are always worse in your mind and on paper. If you're concerned, could you run your training hill several times in succession? I know it wouldn't be the same as the longer incline, but it might help your confidence.

I run a 19% grade, 300m hill as part of my training and it makes almost any hill, even those significantly longer, seem much less horrible in comparison.

Is there any way for you to "pre-run" the course ? Like everyone else has said, physically this hill isn't a big deal...but if you're worried about it, and let it get to you, it could become a mental issue for you. When you are exhausted and start to question everything from your ability to your sanity, you don't need to have that little voice of self doubt asking if you can make it. Get over to the course and at least drive it in a car so you can see it in person, and realize it's nothing you can't handle. It would be even better to get a chance to run the whole course prior to race day so you can know with absolute certainty that you can do this course and this hill, and feel good doing it. Think about the other runners you're going to pass as you start to power up that hill. If you're feeling particularly strong you can even think about how you could pick up the pace a little on the incline to demoralize the other runners who aren't as well prepared as you are. Go kick some *&$%# !!

In my experience, the hills are always worse in your mind and on paper. If you're concerned, could you run your training hill several times in succession? I know it wouldn't be the same as the longer incline, but it might help your confidence.

I run a 19% grade, 300m hill as part of my training and it makes almost any hill, even those significantly longer, seem much less horrible in comparison.

I love running hills on paper, cause paper is flat! It's the real hills that get me!

Thanks again for all of your encouraging and helpful responses. I really appreciate it.

OK, I did a preview run of the course, and amazingly, the ending incline wasn't all that horrible. For the preview run, I took it slow, so I could really analyze the course. I maintained a consistent 10 minute pace for the whole thing (I listened to Lovethehalf.... slow it down, even pace). By doing this, I didn't get too tired out at the end.

I've realized part of my problem: I have an overthinking brain... I am an analyst by profession, so I overthink tiny details all of the time. You should see how I analyze my Garmin results after ever run! ha ha. That said, I loved the response that mathematically calculated the length of each step's increase. GOOD STUFF!

Good luck and for future training add some hill work in. I have my HS xc team run 8 to 15 repeat hills on a 300 meter incline. It starts off nice, flattens some then last incline is steeper. This will add strength and speed to your legs and prepare you for races with hills. Run for the Hill of it!